Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many F35B aircraft they are planning to purchase.

Lord Astor of Hever: The overall number of F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to be purchased will not be determined before the next Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2015.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to establish an Operational Conversion Unit for the F35B aircraft; and, if so, of how many F35B aircraft it will consist.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have estimated the cost of establishing a Operational Conversion Unit for the F35B aircraft; if so, what is their estimate of (1) the total cost, (2) the initial start-up cost, and (3) annual running costs.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they estimate it will cost for each pilot to (1) train, and (2) convert to, fly the F35B aircraft.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered using the United States Operational Conversion Unit for the F35B aircraft; and, if so, how many aircraft the United Kingdom would have to provide.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered using the United States Operational Conversion Unit for the F35B aircraft; and, if so, what estimate they have made of (1) the annual costs, and (2) the start-up costs, of doing so.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered using the United States Operational Conversion Unit for the F35B aircraft; and, if so, how much they estimate it would cost the United Kingdom for each pilot to (1) train, and (2) convert, to fly the F35B aircraft.

Lord Astor of Hever: We intend to establish an Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) for the F-35B aircraft. Approval for an OCU will be considered by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Investment Approvals Committee as part of the forthcoming main gate decision in autumn 2013.
	The business case for the forthcoming main gate investment decision will consider a number of options for conducting conversion training on the F-35, including locating the OCU in the United States. The MoD does not publish details of options considered in business cases.
	An estimate of the costs associated with establishing and sustaining an OCU for the F-35B has been made. These costs will be presented within the main gate business case. The MOD does not publish cost estimates as to do so would undermine its commercial position.
	The numbers of F-35B aircraft within the OCU will vary over time dependent on the operational output required for the UK Lightning II force.

Ascension Island

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are being put in place for delivery of supplies to Ascension Island once RMS St Helena is withdrawn from service.

Baroness Warsi: The Ministry of Defence operates regular air and sea supply chains for Ascension, and other South Atlantic Overseas Territories, to meet military needs. Where there is spare freight capacity on these routes this space is available for purchase to meet the supply requirements of the Territory. There are no plans to alter these arrangements after the withdrawal of the RMS St Helena.

Ascension Island

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there have been any discussions with the government of the United States about that country contributing towards the running costs of Ascension Island.

Baroness Warsi: There have been no such discussions in recent years. The use of facilities on Ascension Island by the United States is governed by a series of diplomatic exchanges, including the Bahamas Agreement. These agreements contain no provision to charge the United States for its use of Ascension.

Ascension Island

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to establishing an air link between St Helena and Ascension Island once the airport is completed on St Helena; and whether there have been any discussions with the government of the United States on the matter.

Baroness Warsi: This is primarily a commercial matter for airlines. Discussions are underway with the United States authorities on the logistical aspects of the potential use of Wideawake Airfield for regular domestic internal flights between St Helena and Ascension islands once the airport on St Helena is completed. The framework for such use is provided for already within the Wideawake Agreement.

Ascension Island

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to update the agreement with the government of the United States on the use of Wideawake Airfield on Ascension Island to allow international flights to and from St Helena to use Wideawake Airfield (1) as a staging point, and (2) as an alternative or diversionary landing site.

Baroness Warsi: Negotiations are underway with the Government of the United States over the use of the Wideawake airstrip as a diversionary landing site for international flights to and from St Helena.

Ascension Island

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to update the agreement with the government of the United States on the use of Wideawake Airfield on Ascension Island to allow a scheduled or chartered domestic service between St Helena and Ascension Island.

Baroness Warsi: The current agreement with the United States on the use of Wideawake Airfield already allows for a domestic service of this type between Ascension and St Helena. There are ongoing discussions with the Government of the United States on the logistical and practical aspects of any such service.

Bank of England

Lord Higgins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assumptions they have made about interest rates when calculating and forecasting their debt interest payments.

Lord Deighton: The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing the official economic and fiscal forecasts in the UK, on which fiscal policy is based. The interest rates used in the debt interest forecast are based on market expectations of the forward curve. In the latest March 2013 Economic and Fiscal outlook, market gilt rates for each fiscal year in the forecast period can be found in Table 4.1, set out below.
	
		
			 Table 4.1: Determinants of the fiscal forecast 
			 Percentage change on previous year unless otherwise specified 
			  Outturn   Forecast
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 
			 Interest rates and exchange. rates. Market gilt rates (%)10 2.2 1.8 2.4 2.7 3.3 3.6 3.9 
		
	
	10
	Weighted average interest rate on conventional gilts

Banks: Co-operative Bank

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the absence of warnings from the Financial Services Authority or the Bank of England on the market in the bonds of Co-operative Bank; and why the regulators made public their concern about the capital shortfalls at Barclays and Nationwide but did not in the case of the Co-operative Bank.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are currently investigating, or have plans to investigate or cause to be investigated, whether employees of the Cooperative Group or Cooperative Bank gave assurances to retail savers and investors in the bonds and preference securities of the Cooperative Bank that might have misrepresented the capital status of those investment instruments and constituted the making of a guarantee by the Cooperative Group.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Cooperative Group or the Cooperative Bank or their directors and employees are or will be investigated for allowing a false market in securities issued by either body; whether the Financial Services Authority’s role will be investigated in respect of the same issue; and, if so, by whom.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Cooperative Group and its directors and officers were last assessed as to being fit and proper to own and manage a bank; and by whom.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to ensure that retail investors in securities issued by the Cooperative Bank receive advice in connection with the recapitalisation of the bank from an adviser or advisers independent of any firm advising the Cooperative Group and Cooperative Bank and its directors and officers; and, if so, whether they will protect such advice and its disclosure to investors from any interference by the Group or Bank.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to review whether the Cooperative Bank has breached threshold conditions as a bank by failing to make interest payments to bond and preference shareholders in accordance with the deeds under which such instruments were issued to savers.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to investigate whether the suspension of interest payments to holders of Co-operative Bank accounts constitutes unfair treatment of customers; and whether they will take action to ensure that such investors receive independent advice from a competent firm on the proposed capital reconstruction.

Lord Deighton: The issues raised by questions HL1675, HL1708, HL1709, HL1710, HL1711, HL1814 and HL1972 are largely supervisory matters for the Prudential
	Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which operate independently of Government.
	Both the PRA and FCA have responsibilities for assessing the fitness and properness of persons with significant influence within financial services firms (HL1710) and for assessing firms' compliance with threshold conditions (HL1814). These questions have therefore been passed on to the PRA and FCA, who will reply to the Noble Lord directly by letter.
	The FCA is responsible for ensuring an appropriate degree of protection for consumers of financial services. This includes consideration of whether firms have accurately represented the nature of investments (HL1 708), whether investors are treated fairly and are supplied with suitable advice (HL1711 and HL1972) and issues around market abuse (HL1709). The Treasury has no current plans to investigate the role of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in relation to the issues raised by HL1709. These questions have been passed to FCA, who will reply to the Noble Lord directly by letter.
	A copy of the responses from the PRA and the FCA will be placed in the Library of the House.
	Finally, in relation to suggestion (HL1675) that “the regulators made public their concern about the capital shortfalls at Barclays and Nationwide but did not in the case of the Co-operative Bank”, the Treasury notes that, in fact, the results of the PRA’s capital adequacy of assessments of eight major UK banks and building societies were announced simultaneously on 20 June 2013. The announcement is available on the Bank of England’s website1.
	1. www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/news/2013/081.aspx

BBC: Licence Fee

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 10 July (WA 45), whether any portion of the licence fee is retained by the Government for its spending or for contingency purposes; what were the BBC World Service broadcasting costs paid by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in each of the last five years; and when the last payment to BBC World Service will be made.

Baroness Warsi: No portion of the licence fee is retained by the Government for its spending or for contingency purposes—all licence fee money is allocated to the BBC.
	Below are the amounts which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provided in grant-in-aid funding for the BBC World Service (BBCWS) for the last 5 years, and the forecast for financial year 2013-14.
	2008-09 - £265,043,000
	2009-10 - £268,043,000
	2010-11 - £268,523,000
	2011-12 - £255,200,000
	2012-13 - £244,200,000
	2013-14 - forecast £238,480,000
	The last payment of grant-in-aid funding from the FCO will be paid to the BBCWS in March 2014. The BBCWS will then be funded from the licence fee from April 2014.

Benefits

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many requests for information in connection with incapacity benefit were made to general practitioners in 2008; how many have been made in the first three months of 2013 in connection with the Employment and Support Allowance; and how many they anticipate will be made during the whole of 2013.

Lord Freud: We do not hold information on the number of requests for further medical evidence from GPs in 2008 in relation to incapacity benefit.
	For the months of January to March 2013 further medical evidence was requested by Atos Healthcare in over 170,000 new ESA claims, re-referrals and incapacity benefit reassessment cases.
	It is not possible to accurately predict how many requests will be made during 2013 as each case is determined on an individual basis.

Bovine Tuberculosis

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cases of bovine tuberculosis have been reported in domestic animals for each year since 2002.

Lord De Mauley: Tables showing cases of Mycobacterium bovis infection in non-bovine domestic animals and wild deer between 1997 and 31 March 2013 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/other-tb-statistics. These data are updated quarterly. They show the number of individual animal submissions to AHVLA from notified suspect clinical and post mortem cases and the number of such submissions that proved culture positive for M. bovis. Where multiple animals are affected on the same infected premises, cultures and post mortem examinations are not always carried out by the AHVLA on every animal removed.
	A table showing the number of M. bovis incidents identified every year on camelid premises in Great Britain is found also in the link above.

British Overseas Territories

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the future reliability of inter-island links in the South Atlantic for the transport of imports and exports and the mobility of labour in the South Atlantic British Overseas Territories after the St Helena airport is operational and the RMS St Helena ceases to operate.

Baroness Warsi: We are working closely with the St Helena and Ascension authorities as plans are developed for the transportation of supplies and passengers domestically among the islands after the introduction of air access to St Helena. These plans are progressing although work remains to be done in the run up to the opening of the airport and the withdrawal of the Royal Mail Ship St Helena service.

Burma

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 18 July (HL Deb, cols 876–7), whether the United Kingdom’s new military relationship with Burma will include the sale or transfer of arms or military equipment; whether the United Kingdom has approved any arms export licences to Burma and, if so, on what grounds; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the European Union arms embargo on Burma remains in place and continues to be strictly enforced.

Baroness Warsi: The sale or transfer of arms and military equipment play no part in our relationship with the Burmese military. The EU arms embargo on Burma remains in place, following the lifting of the majority of sanctions in April 2013.
	All export licences for Burma are fully assessed against the Consolidated Criteria and compliant with the sanctions in place at the time. A UK licence would only be issued for the export of military equipment to Burma where the proposed export meets one or more of the narrow exemptions to the arms embargo as set out in EU legislation, such as equipment for use in demining operations, or non-lethal equipment solely for humanitarian or protective use. In the last five years only one such licence has been granted, for the export of bomb suits for use by a humanitarian organisation engaged in demining activities.
	EU arms embargoes are implemented by Member States in their domestic law. Whether there are sanctions for a Member State in breach of the embargo—and, if so, what those sanctions entail—will depend on the terms of that Member State’s implementation in its domestic law.
	The UK is developing a defence relationship with Burma, including appointing a Defence Attaché at the request of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The focus of our defence engagement will be on developing democratic accountability in modern armed forces, with full respect for international law and human rights. During President Thein Sein’s visit to London from 15-16 July, the Secretary of State for Defence, the right Hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), offered a training course incorporating these core principles, to be delivered in Burma early next year.

Burma

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what applications have been received for licences for export of small arms ammunition to Burma; and from whom.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: In the last 5 years there has been one licence application for export of small arms ammunition to Burma. The application was for .22 calibre sporting cartridges and was submitted in May 2011. The application was refused because the export of small arms ammunition would have been a breach of the EU arms embargo. Export licence applications are submitted in confidence and contain commercially sensitive information.

Burma

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the last United Nations General Assembly resolution on human rights in Burma; and whether they intend to make any recommendations concerning the contents of the next General Assembly resolution on that subject.

Baroness Warsi: The EU-sponsored resolution on Burma tabled at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in November 2012 recognised the progress made during the country’s reform process, whilst noting that concerns remained, particularly on the continued presence of political prisoners in Burma’s jails, conflict and human rights violations in Kachin State, and the situation in Rakhine State.
	The EU-sponsored resolution tabled at the Human Rights Council in March 2013, which the UK had a significant role in shaping, raised concerns about the same issues.
	We will discuss plans for Burma with our EU and other UN partners at UNGA 2013 over the coming weeks. As with all UN discussions on Burma, we would work to ensure that the outcome reflects UK policy, welcoming progress made and highlighting those areas where further work is needed.

Burma

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the latest date by which it is likely that all remaining political prisoners in Burma will have been released.

Baroness Warsi: I refer my noble Friend to the written ministerial statement of 17 July 2013, Official Report, Columns WS109-110, on the Visit of Burma's President U Thein Sein, with particular reference to the President’s public commitment to release all political prisoners by the end of 2013. We will continue to monitor the implementation of this commitment closely.
	As my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), set out in his press statement of 23 July, we welcome the latest release of political prisoners, but remain concerned by the continued arrests, detentions and sentencing of political activists in Burma.
	We continue to call on the Burmese government to ensure that democratic activists are able to voice their opinions freely and without fear of arrest. We welcome reports on 26 July that an activist from the ‘Generation Wave’ group has been released from custody. We urge both the Burmese government and the parliament to repeal all existing laws which are not in line with democratic standards.

Businesses: Small Businesses

The Earl of Courtown: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what help they are providing to people who wish to start small businesses.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government is helping people in many ways to start small businesses. For example, there is a wide range of advice and information on the GOV.UK website and also the GREAT campaign website, which links to sources of support from Government and the third sector. Also, mentorsme.co.uk provides a single point of access for those seeking business mentors.
	We are also helping people to get access to the finance they need to help them start their business. We have made available over £117.5 million of funding to boost enterprise amongst 18-30 year olds across England through the Start-Up Loan Scheme. And soon, the Scheme will be extended to all ages over 18. On 5 June Government announced the scheme's 5,000th loan to a young entrepreneur at an event at number 10 to pledge further support for small businesses.
	Government is also committed to creating a tax system which is both competitive and fair to help make life easier for people wanting to start a new business. For example, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) was introduced last year in order to encourage more investment in new start ups.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of potential cuts in coastguard funding on deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning when boating.

Earl Attlee: Her Majesty’s Government regrets all such deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Excellent advice is available from the Canal and River Trust and Environment Agency through the Boat Safety Scheme to support those on boats on inland waterways, where this tends to be an issue.
	However, this is not a matter for our Coastguard Service and the Government has made no such assessment of the impact on deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning when boating. The modernisation of Her Majesty’s Coastguard focuses on developing a national network to improve the management of how maritime rescues are coordinated.

Children and Families Bill

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have been held between the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal and the Ministry of Justice about the possibility of the Tribunal becoming the single point of appeal and redress against education, health and care assessments as a result of changes planned under the Children and Families Bill.

Lord McNally: No such discussions have taken place between the First-tier Tribunal, Special Educational Needs and Disability, and the Ministry of Justice. The Children and Families Bill replaces existing Special Education Needs statements with new ‘birth to twenty five’ education, health and care plans. Only the education elements of the new plans will have a right of appeal to the First tier Tribunal. Policy responsibility for the Children and Families Bill, which provides for the right of appeal, sits with the Department for Education.

Children: Care

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to amend the current system of awarding costs in children's care cases so that local authorities found to be acting against the interests of children, families or carers bear some of the costs of their litigation.

Lord McNally: The Government currently has no plans to amend the existing system of awarding costs in care proceedings. The family courts already have the sanction available to them of making wasted costs orders, if appropriate. Local authorities have an overarching duty to ensure that every decision which they make about a child in care proceedings is the most appropriate way to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Crime: Forensic Scientists

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to prevent excessive charges being billed to independent forensic scientists to allow them to examine relevant material in criminal cases.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Under the remit of the National Forensic Framework Agreement, through which police forces procure their forensic laboratory services, the performance of the commercial suppliers is closely monitored.
	The contractual arrangements of the framework agreement and the Forensic Science Regulators’ Code of Practice, allow for a reasonable charge to be levied by the Suppliers for their services, time, expertise and facilities.
	Suppliers under the framework are free to engage specialists as they see fit, however this is subject to the same competition and oversight as the supplier's directly provided services.
	The Suppliers operate within an open, fair and competitive market, the commercial pressures of which provide the safeguard against overly excessive charges being levied.

Crime: Phone Theft

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of smartphones with remote tracking functionality stolen in 2012; how many such thefts were reported to the police; how many devices were subsequently recovered; and how many prosecutions resulted.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The data requested does not currently exist within the police recorded crime data. Theft of mobile phones would be included within one of several offence categories, e.g. “theft from the person”, alongside theft of other items. As such, these data do not distinguish the number of mobile phones or smartphones stolen and hence no information is available on the number with remote tracking functionality that have been stolen.
	Data on incidents of mobile phone theft are collected via the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) by the Office for National Statistics, but it is not possible to differentiate smartphones from mobile phones on the survey as the question wording has remained constant to allow for comparisons over time.

Defence: Five Powers Defence Arrangement

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for future engagement with the United Kingdom's allies in the Five Powers Defence Arrangement.

Lord Astor of Hever: The UK’s allies in the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) are Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. On a bilateral basis, we have regular and extensive engagement across the full breadth of Government to Government relations. Within the auspices of the FPDA, however, the FPDA exercise plot sees two live exercises each year: one in the spring, followed by one in the autumn. Having had four Typhoon aircraft participate in the spring exercise earlier this year, we plan to contribute a Royal Navy Destroyer (Type 45) to the exercise this coming autumn. Looking ahead, there is a five year plan for FPDA exercises; the exact UK contributions will be finalised at exercise planning meetings nearer the time. Outside of the live exercise plot, there is a series of regular FPDA meetings throughout the year that UK representatives attend, the highest level this year being the Five Power Defence Chiefs Conference (FDCC) in November 2013 in Singapore, at which our Chief of Defence Staff will be present.

Developing Countries: Maritime and Aviation Sectors

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the Department for International Development’s study on the impacts on developing countries of measures to address emissions in the maritime and aviation sectors.

Baroness Northover: A copy of DFID’s study, “Research to assess impacts on developing countries of measures to address emissions in the international aviation and shipping sectors” will be placed in the Library of the House on 30 July 2013.

Digital Companies

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what definition they give to the term “digital company” in the United Kingdom economy.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have estimated the number of digital companies in the United Kingdom economy.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: There is no official definition of term “digital company” which can refer to a wide range of companies across a number of sectors. Estimates of the numbers of digital companies will therefore vary depending on the definition used. In the Information Economy Strategy, published on 14 June, we estimated there to be 120,000 information economy companies. This figure is based on Office of National Statistics figures for companies primarily in the software, IT services and telecommunications services sectors.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency divulges individual addresses of vehicle owners to private car park enforcement companies.

Earl Attlee: Information to help contact the registered keepers of vehicles can be released to private car parking management companies provided they demonstrate reasonable cause for receiving the information.
	It is considered reasonable for businesses and landowners to be able to request vehicle keeper details where there has been an alleged breach of the terms and conditions of parking.
	All private parking management companies requesting information must be members of an Accredited Trade Association appropriate to the parking industry and adhere to a code of practice stipulating the standards of operations required.

Employment: Sickness Absence

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made to implement the recommendations of Health at work—an independent review of sickness absence; and which recommendations they have (1) accepted, and (2) rejected.

Lord Freud: Fitness for work: the Government response to ‘Health at work —an independent review of sickness absence’ was published in January 2013. It outlined a range of measures to support people with ill-health to remain in and return to work including a new health and work assessment
	and advisory service which will make occupational health expertise more widely available to GPs, and those employees and employers who need it most.
	We are currently at the design stage of the new health and work assessment and advisory service. We expect the service to be delivered through external provision and an Invitation To Tender to this effect will be issued in due course. Funding for the new service will be recycled from the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS) which will end in April 2014.
	Also, in the 2013 Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that employers that help their employees to return to work after periods of sickness will get new support through the tax system. A targeted tax exemption will be introduced so amounts up to £500 per year, paid by employers on health-related interventions recommended by the health and work assessment and advisory service will be exempt from tax.
	The Government wants to make the exemption simple to administer, to encourage employers to engage with the well-being of their employees and fund treatment to help them return to work after a period of ill-health. Formal consultation to seek views on the implementation of the new exemption opened on 21 June 2013 and will close on 16 August 2013.
	A full list of the Review’s recommendations and the Government’s response can be found below.
	
		
			  Recommendation Government Response 
			 1 The Government should fund a new Independent Assessment Service (IAS). The IAS would provide an in-depth assessment of an individual’s physical and/or mental function. It would also provide advice about how an individual on sickness absence could be supported to return to work. This service should usually be accessed when an individual‘s absence spell has lasted around four weeks. Page 30, Para 52 The Government accepts the recommendation. We will establish a health and work assessment and advisory service which will: Deliver a state-funded assessment by occupational health professionals for employees after four weeks on sick leave. Signpost to appropriate interventions Provide employers and employees with advice on overcoming the barriers that prevent them from returning to work. We will also go a step further than the Review’s recommendation: The service will provide case management for the minority of employees with complex needs who require ongoing support to enable their return to work. 
			 2 The Government should revise fit note guidance to ensure that judgements about fitness to work move away from only job-specific assessments. Page 27, Para 36 The Government accepts the recommendation. Revised fit note guidance for GPs, employers and individuals has been published it emphasises the importance of assessing an individual’s health condition in relation to work in general and not just for one specific role. 
		
	
	
		
			 3 The Government should do more to improve knowledge and awareness among health care professionals, particularly those involved in certification, of the Work Capability Assessments (WCAs), the benefits system generally and the importance of work for health. Page 33, Page 61 The Government accepts the recommendation. We have already: Produced a GP’s guide to the benefits system which includes information about the Work Capability Assessment and which will be updated to reflect the introduction of Universal Credit. Developed training for GPs, in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners, focusing on the importance of work for health and related clinical issues. We will also: explore new integrated approaches across the health and welfare system, including more support for GP education on mental health and employment 
			 4 Expenditure by employers targeted at keeping sick employees in work (or speeding their return to work) such as medical treatments or vocational rehabilitation should attract tax relief. This should be targeted at basic-rate tax payers. Page 49, Para 112 In the 2013 Budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that employers that help their employees to return to work after periods of sickness will get new support through the tax system. A consultation exercise is in progress. 
			 5 Existing tax relief on Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) which provide information, advice and counselling on a variety causing absence and/or performance problems should be retained. Page 48, Para 107 The Government accepts the recommendation. The current tax relief on Employee Assistance Programmes will be retained as EAPs promote sickness absence management in the workplace. 
			 6 Government should abolish the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS) which compensates mainly smaller employers for very high rates of sickness absence in their organisations, but reduces incentives to manage absence. Page 39, Para 74 The Government accepts the recommendation. We will abolish the PTS in and recycle the funding into the new health and work assessment and advisory service which will provide invaluable support for employers. 
			 7 Record-keeping obligations under SSP should be abolished, thereby helping to reduce employer administrative burdens. Page 40, Para 76 The Government accepts the recommendation. We will abolish the SSP record keeping from to enabling employers to keep records in a more flexible manner which best suits their organisation. 
			 8 Government should update its Employers’ Charter to address misconceptions around sick absence management, especially legal uncertainty. Page 43, Para 89 The Government accepts the recommendation. The Employer’s Charter was updated in March 2012 to clarify what employers can do to manage sickness absence. 
			 9 Government should carry out further research into the reasons behind the significant number of people claiming ill health benefits who come straight from work, especially from smaller employers, but appear not to have been paid sick pay by their employer before hand. Page 38, Para 71 The Government accepts the recommendation. Research has been commissioned to explore the details of sickness absence management and sick pay regimes in different types of firms and how these affect the journey from work to long-term sickness benefits. 
		
	
	
		
			 10 Public sector employers should take immediate action to bring worst performing parts of the public sector up to the standards of the best. Government should also review OSP in the public sector. Page 60, Para 138 and Page 61, Para 145 The Government accepts the recommendation. Civil Service Departments are already reviewing occupational sick pay scheme as part of the general review of Civil Service terms and conditions. We are working with education, local government and health employers to: ensure all Public Sector employers publish an annual Average Working Days Lost metric. Urge them to consider a review of their Occupational Sick Pay regime. 
			 11 The introduction of a new job-brokering service to help long-term sick employees find new work (where appropriate) before they fall on to the benefits system. This service should be offered free by the State in case of very long-term absence) at 20 weeks or sooner if the Government is convinced of the business case to do so), but should be available earlier for individuals and employers that are willing to pay for it. The government should consider delivering the service as an extension of the Work Programme. Page 63 The Government partly accepts the recommendation. We recognise that some sick employees will not return to their employer and will need help to find new work. However, we do not believe a new job-brokering service is necessary to support this. The new health and work assessment and advisory service will instead signpost employees in this position to Universal Jobmatch, a free internet job-matching service launched in November 2012. 
			 12 The Government should end the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) assessment phase altogether. People should only go on to Employment Support Allowance after a Work Capability Assessment, or as at present, if they qualify to pass directly on to ESA without a face-to-face WCA. Page 74, Para 207 The Government does not accept the recommendation. We do not believe ending the ESA assessment phase is practical as by the time legislation could be put in place most new claims will have been superseded by Universal Credit. We do, however, accept the principle underlying the recommendation: We will address this within Universal Credit by ensuring all claimants receive the appropriate level of conditionality when they make a claim or have a change of circumstances. There will be no blanket exemption for people claiming UC on grounds of sickness. 
			 13 The recommendation above should be supported by Jobcentre Plus’ claims policies and processes to prevent large numbers of people being inappropriately directed toward ESA. Page 69, Last para The Government accepts the recommendation. Thanks to welfare reforms. Income-based ESA will be replaced by the new Universal Credit. Universal Credit will be more supportive to those with health conditions because conditionality will be based on individual circumstances, rather than by fixed benefit rules. This will allow for more help and support to be targeted at those who need it most.

Employment: Work Capability Assessments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans (1) to re-instate the time limit for returning evidence with the ESA50 work capability questionnaire to six weeks to allow claimants to submit all relevant medical evidence with their forms; and (2) to review complaints about the wording on the ESA50 form relating to returning evidence; and what assessment they have made of the number of general practitioners who are returning detailed comprehensive evidence when patients are assessed for Employment and Support Allowance and when they are asked to do so.

Lord Freud: We currently have no plans, and no evidence of the need to, increase the time limit for returning an ESA50 back to six weeks. The timescale was originally based on the Incapacity Benefit (IB) arrangements which allowed an extra two weeks to get an additional medical statement (Med4) from the GP, which is not required for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims. As has always been the case, claimants can submit any evidence they feel will support their claim up to the point the decision is made, which may be several weeks after the expiry of the ESA50 time limits. We want claimants to provide such evidence as soon as they can, in order to help the decision maker make a fully informed decision about benefit eligibility. All evidence submitted will be considered in the decision making process.
	Every effort has been made to improve and simplify the wording, layout and design of the ESA50 and we continue to monitor how it performs in practice. For example, after extensive consultation with a number of leading representative groups the ESA50 was changed in January 2013 to ensure the form better captured elements around frequency, severity and duration to improve the collection of information from individuals with fluctuating conditions.
	Under the current system, for the months of March to May 2013 further medical evidence was requested by Atos Healthcare in over 170,000 new ESA claims, re-referrals and Incapacity Benefit reassessment cases. Only between 19% and 30% were returned within 10 calendar days, with some taking more than 50 days to return. Between 19% and 33% each month were not returned at all by GPs. We have not made any assessment of how comprehensive these returns were.

Employment: Work Capability Assessments 1

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , further to the Written Statement by Lord Freud on 22 July (WS 151–2) which noted that “a recent DWP audit
	identified a reduction in the quality of written reports which are produced by Atos following assessments and are then used by the Department to form part of the decision making process on benefit entitlement”, what action they are taking to rectify that situation; and what recourse will be available to people adversely affected by decisions made on the basis of inadequate or flawed reports produced by Atos Health Care.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government , further to the Written Statement by Lord Freud on 22 July (WS 152), when the Atos Healthcare quality improvement plan will be in place; how the changes will be monitored; and how much will be paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers to provide independent advice in relation to strengthening quality assurance processes across all Atos Healthcare's health and disability assessments.

Lord Freud: As I set out in my statement, a recent DWP audit of Atos Healthcare identified a reduction in the quality of written reports which are produced by Atos following assessments and are then used by the Department to form part of the decision making process on benefit entitlement. This is unacceptable and the Department is considering all its options under the contract and will apply all appropriate contractual remedies to ensure quality and value.
	The Department directed Atos to put in place a quality improvement plan, which is now in place and being acted upon. The plan includes retraining and reaccrediting their entire workforce of healthcare professionals and the audit of all reports produced by healthcare professionals who have not been shown to meet the required standards, before they are returned to the Department. Where a healthcare professional fails to meet the required standard, approval to carry out assessments will be withdrawn by the Department. The Department is monitoring this very closely, meeting regularly with Atos, and will be auditing samples of cases to ensure that the required quality standard is being achieved.
	The Department has also engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to provide independent advice in relation to strengthening quality assurance processes across all its health and disability assessments. The full scope of this work is still being finalised.
	It is understandable that people will be concerned to hear that some of Atos’s assessment reports did not meet the quality the Department expects. However, a report having been identified as C-grade does not necessarily mean that the overall assessment was poor or the advice given the Department was incorrect. For example, it may indicate that the report did not sufficiently explain the advice or lacked the detail required by the Department. The departmental audit has shown that claimants whose reports did not meet our rigorous quality standard were no more likely to have been found fit for work than other claimants.
	There are checks and balances in the system to ensure that claimants receive the right outcomes. All decisions for entitlement are made by Decision Makers,
	working for the Department, who consider all the evidence in a case. Any advice from Atos is only one part of the overall process and decision makers can—and do—reach a different decision once all the supporting information is taken into account. Everyone has the right to appeal their decision, and is informed of their dispute and appeal rights. Anyone who believed the decision in their case was wrong would already have been able to appeal the decision.

Endangered Species: Conservation

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to assist in the conservation of endangered species living in the wild.

Lord De Mauley: The Government views the conservation of endangered animals as a high priority and is active at the national, EU and global level. At national level, measures to assist in the conservation of England’s endangered species are included within Biodiversity 2020: A strategy for England’s wildlife and ecosystem services. Under the Strategy, action is being taken to establish more coherent and resilient ecological networks on land and at sea to benefit all wildlife as well as targeted action for the recovery of priority species whose conservation is not delivered through wider habitat-based measures. These actions also address obligations arising from the EU’s own 2020 biodiversity strategy, including delivery of the EU Habitats and Wild Birds Directives.
	At a global level, the UK is an influential leader in the protection of endangered species, supporting the delivery of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi targets and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the key multilateral environmental agreement directly regulating trade in endangered species. At the recent 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2013, the UK played an active role in helping to secure additional protection under CITES for elephants and rhinos as well as various marine and timber species.
	In addition, the UK Government helps developing countries and UK Overseas Territories to protect their biodiversity by funding projects through the Darwin Initiative. Most Darwin projects will benefit endangered species (either directly or indirectly) and since 1992 we have funded 834 projects across 157 countries totalling around £97 million.

Female Genital Mutilation

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made by the Crown Prosecution Service in implementing its action plan on female genital mutilation.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has made considerable progress against the Director of Public Prosecution's Action Plan on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) through collaborative work between the CPS, the police and other agencies represented on the CPS FGM Steering Group.
	The key actions include work to lead to improved reporting, to strengthen police investigation and evidence to support a successful prosecution. This has placed the CPS and the police in a much better place to respond to FGM cases.

Food: Nutrition

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to release a new position paper on nutrition for 2015 by way of an update to the position paper of 2011, Scaling Up Nutrition.

Baroness Northover: DfID currently has no plans to release a new position paper on nutrition. This will be considered in due course.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Randerson on 19 July (WA 157), concerning the Northern Ireland Parades Commission, whether they will now answer the second part of the questions concerning the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Baroness Randerson: The Parades Commission for Northern Ireland is listed as a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and any information which they hold is subject to this legislation.
	As indicated in my previous answers on 19 July, Official Report, Column WA157, decisions relating to the release of the information referred to in your question are an operational matter for the Commission, acting independently of Government. The Noble Lord may therefore wish to write to them directly on this matter.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , in the light of recent reports that the flow of goods from Egypt to Gaza has reduced, what assessment they have made of food security in Gaza.

Baroness Northover: The recent tunnel closures have led to shortages of fuel and construction materials in Gaza, rather than outright food shortages. Gaza's economy remains fragile and basic goods can quickly become very expensive. Around 20,000 jobs in the construction sector have recently been lost, and seventy-one percent of the households in Gaza are already either food insecure or vulnerable to food insecurity. The knock-on effect following these tunnel closures is likely to increase food security within Gaza.
	We are closely monitoring the humanitarian situation, drawing on analysis from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Access coordination unit and the World Health Organisation. The UK funds the World Food Programme (2011-2015) to provide food vouchers to 5750 vulnerable households, enabling them to purchase the basic food items, that they need to survive.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action the Foreign Secretary is taking to follow the recommendations of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict.

Baroness Warsi: We are aware of the report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the last Gaza conflict although this did not contain recommendations.
	During the conflict in November 2012, we urged all sides to abide by international humanitarian law and to avoid civilian casualties. There is some evidence that the Israeli Defence Force exercised greater care in the selection of targets and to avoid non-combatant casualties than in previous such operations. However, based on the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other independent reports, there remain important concerns over the proportionality of certain strikes, as well as the high loss of Palestinian civilian life during Operation Pillar of Defence.

Health: Human Papilloma Virus

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 25 June (WA 112), whether they will add information relating to the websites of human papillomavirus vaccine manufacturers to the information leaflet sent to parents prior to their giving consent.

Earl Howe: Public Health England has no current plans to provide links to the websites of human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) manufacturers in the HPV leaflets, as they already contain comprehensive information that should meet the needs of most parents/carers and their daughters. The leaflets will be reviewed, as is normal practice, before they are next reprinted.

Health: Ophthalmology

Lord Low of Dalston: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 25 February (WA 251), what steps the National Health Service is taking to ensure that eye care services are able to meet rising demand and are well-integrated across health and social care in line with the objective laid out in the mandate from the Government to NHS England to “improve people’s experience of integrated care”.

Earl Howe: NHS England has advised that it is in the process of developing a strategy for the commissioning of primary care services, including their vision for the future of primary care eye care as part of the wider system of out-of-hospital care.
	NHS England is responsible for running the General Ophthalmic Service which provides National Health Service sight tests and optical vouchers (for qualifying patients who need spectacles). The clinical services which underpin the rest of eye-care services sit with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). NHS England is working closely at a local level with partner organisations, especially CCGs which are responsible for developing local pathways that meet the needs of their populations and, as such, determine the best pathways for eye care locally, and social care which comes into direct contact with those in most need. This work will include bringing in the clinical expertise of the local professional networks which will provide a new focus on effective local treatment and care. The aim is to develop local joined up care for patients.

Homelessness: Armed Forces

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of those individuals sleeping rough on the streets are former members of the United Kingdom armed forces.

Baroness Hanham: This Government is committed to preventing and tackling homelessness and protecting the most vulnerable including former members of our armed forces. We have invested £470 million over the Spending Review period for homelessness prevention.
	3% of people seen rough sleeping in London who are from the UK had served in the armed forces—down from 4% in 2011/12 (CHAIN data 2012/13).
	We are determined to ensure that current and former members of the Armed Forces gain the housing they deserve, recognising the sacrifices they have made for the country. We have, therefore, introduced measures
	to place members of the Armed Forces at the top of the priority list for home ownership schemes, including FirstBuy.
	We have changed the law by regulation so that former personnel with urgent housing needs are always given ‘additional preference’ (high priority) for social housing; and councils are prevented from applying local connection requirements to disqualify members of the armed forces and those within 5 years of leaving the Services from their waiting list. The qualification regulations came into force on 24 August 2012; the additional preference regulations on 30 November 2012.
	Our statutory social allocations guidance sets out how councils’ allocation schemes can give priority to all Service families, including through the use of local preference criteria and local lettings policies.

Homelessness: Rough Sleepers

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of rough sleepers on the streets of London in (1) 2010, and (2) 2013.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had, or plan to have, with the Mayor of London on the level of rough sleeping in London.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether rough sleeping within London is concentrated in particular locations; and, if so, where.

Baroness Hanham: The Coalition Government is committed to tackling and preventing rough sleeping. One of our first actions was to introduce a more accurate assessment of rough sleeping levels so that there is clear information in all areas, to inform service provision and action to address the problem. The previous Administration's methodology and approach consistently under-stated the true picture.
	Rough sleeping counts and estimates are single night snapshots of the number of people sleeping rough in local authority areas. The figures can be found in the Department's statistical releases:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn- 2010
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rough-sleepin-in-en,gland-autumn-2012
	Figures for autumn 2013 are due to be published in February 2014.
	The annual rough sleeper figure for England reports that the total of people counted or estimated as sleeping rough in London was 415 in autumn 2010 and 557 in autumn 2012, which is currently the most recent figure.
	The change in the rough sleeping figure for London has been influenced by our No Second Night Out initiative. Its introduction has led to an increase in hours of working and coverage by outreach teams in
	London, which has meant that more people are being identified and contacted by outreach workers—in particular people that are new to the streets. No Second Night Out is making a big difference in London. The CHAIN annual data for 2012/13 shows that No Second Night Out helped ensure that three quarters (75%) of new rough sleepers spend just a single night on London's streets.
	The majority of rough sleepers in London are foreign nationals. We are stepping up action to prevent migrant rough sleeping including support for the ‘Before You Go’ campaign (Poland) to cover Bulgaria, Lithuania and Romania. The campaign has been developed by the homelessness charity, The Passage, to show the harsh reality of what can happen to those who travel to the UK unprepared and end up on the streets.
	We work closely with the Mayor of London. We are investing £470 million for homelessness prevention over the spending review period which includes £34 million to fund the Greater London Authority to tackle rough sleeping across the capital; £20 million to support the national roll out of the No Second Night Out standard and protect vital front line services. and, £5 million for a Social Impact Bond which we have developed with the Greater London Authority to work with approximately 830 people with significant experience of rough sleeping in London over the past two years.

Housing

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many units of low cost housing, under each category of affordable housing, have been built, and are currently being built, in each local district authority since 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to ensure that low-income families have access to housing on a secure and long-term basis.

Baroness Hanham: Statistics on additional affordable housing provided in each local authority area are published in the Department's live tables 1006 (social rented housing), 1007 (intermediate affordable housing) and 1008 (all affordable housing), which are available at the following link. https://wvvw.gov.uk/govemment/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply. These figures include both newly built housing and acquisitions.
	£19.5 billion of public and private investment in affordable homes will deliver 170,000 homes in the four years to 2015. Half way through this period the Government has already delivered over 84,000 affordable homes. The Spending Round announced a further £3.3 billion of Government money which, together with receipts from Right to Buy sales, will help lever in up to an additional £20 billion of private finance. We estimate that this will provide a further 165,000 affordable homes in the three years to 2018.
	We would expect lower income households to benefit disproportionately from these new affordable homes. Statutory guidance on social housing allocations published in June 2012 encourages local authorities to give greater priority for social housing to low income working families.
	People who receive social housing will receive, after any period as introductory or starter tenants, tenancies which provide them with significant security. Except in exceptional circumstances, social landlords must grant tenancies of at least five years. We would expect, where tenants remained on low incomes at the end of any fixed term of the tenancy, the large majority of those tenancies to be renewed.

Housing

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to ensure that labour mobility into regions with high housing costs is possible for low-income families.

Baroness Hanham: Government action to support the building of more affordable housing will benefit low-income families wishing to move to take up employment opportunities. We are working to ensure that £19.5 billion of public and private investment in affordable homes will deliver 170,000 homes in the four years to 2015. Half way through, we have already delivered over 84,000. Up to a further 30,000 affordable homes will be delivered by March 2017, supported by a share of the £10 billion Housing Guarantees and grant of £450 million.
	The Spending Round announced a further £3.3 billion of Government money—which, together with receipts from Right to Buy sales, will help lever up to £20 billion of private finance on top. This will provide a further 165,000 homes in the three years to 2018.
	We have also taken action to increase opportunities for social tenants who wish to move through a mutual exchange to take up employment or training. HomeSwap Direct, the national home swap scheme, allows tenants looking for a swap to see details of every possible property nationwide, no matter which mutual exchange website their landlord has chosen to subscribe to.

Housing

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) council-owned housing units, and (2) other social housing units, have been available to rent in each local housing authority, in each year since 1983.

Baroness Hanham: Statistics on the number of local authority owned and Private Registered Provider (housing association) owned dwellings in each local authority area are published in the Department’s live tables 116 (local authority owned dwellings) and 115 (Private Registered Provider owned dwellings), which are available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-tock-including-vacants
	Statistics are only available by local authority area from 1994 for local authority owned dwellings and from 1997 for Private Registered Providers owned dwellings.

Impact Assessments

Baroness Hughes of Stretford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current rules that determine when an impact assessment is conducted in relation to a new policy or proposed piece of legislation; when those rules were last changed, and by what process.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The current rules for departments in relation to impact assessments are set out in the Better Regulation Framework Manual, which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211981/bis-13-1038-better-regulation-framework-manual-guidance-for-officials.pdf
	The rules concerning impact assessments came into force in August 2012. The rules are kept under review by officials in the Better Regulation Executive within the Department for Business Innovation and Skills; significant changes are agreed by Reducing Regulation Committee, a Cabinet sub-committee.

Islamic State Conference

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , further to the answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 10 June (HL Deb, col 1400), whether Baroness Warsi delivered a speech at the Organisation of Islamic States Conference in February.

Baroness Warsi: I attended the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Islamic Summit in Cairo on 6-7 February 2013, and met Ministers from a number of countries. Unfortunately, the session at which I was due to speak was cut short, and I was one of a number of speakers who were unable to address the Summit. Copies of my speech were distributed at the Summit, and also published online at https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/baroness-warsi-addresses-organisation-of-islamic-cooperation-summit.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish their own guidelines to supplement the recent European Union rules which prohibit funding to Israeli bodies connected with settlements.

Baroness Warsi: The EU guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments, were prepared to implement the commitment made by EU Foreign Ministers in December 2012 to make a distinction in relevant EU agreements between the State of Israel and Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories.
	We welcome the guidelines, which are fully in line with the UK’s policy towards the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but we currently have no plans to publish national guidelines.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assurances they seek from the government of Israel about the uses to which arms sold to that country will be put before granting export licences for such areas.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Export licence applications require supporting documentation to help verify the end-use of the goods to be exported. Where the export is for the end-use of the Israeli government, then they would be required to provide the appropriate assurances. These assurances are: confirmation of the end-user; details of the specific purposes for which the goods are to be used by the end-user; that the goods will not be used for any purpose connected with Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) or missiles capable of delivering such weapons; that they will not be re-exported or otherwise re-sold or transferred if known or suspected that they are intended for WMD; that they will not be re-exported or otherwise re-sold or transferred to a destination subject to a UN, EU or OSCE (Organisation for Security and co-operation in Europe) embargo and that act would be in breach of the terms of that embargo and that the goods, or any replica of them, will not be used in any nuclear explosive activity or unsafeguarded nuclear fuel cycle. In cases where exports are for the end-use of commercial entities in Israel, then they would have responsibility for providing the same assurances that are detailed above.
	All export licence applications to Israel are rigorously assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated European Union (EU) and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Export licences are not issued where they would be inconsistent with the Criteria.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to investigate reports of the use of tear gas by Israeli armed forces around and inside Palestinian homes in Abu Dis.

Baroness Warsi: We do not have any specific plans to investigate these reports but have repeatedly expressed concerns with the Israeli authorities about Israel’s policing of non-violent protests in the West Bank.

Israel and Palestine: West Bank

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any representations to the government of Israel regarding the approval process by that government for construction of further settlements in the West Bank.

Baroness Warsi: Our officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv last raised the issue of settlements with the Israeli National Security Advisor on 26 July and with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the week of 15 July. On the issue of Israeli settlements, the UK position is clear: they are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and make a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, harder to achieve. We have consistently urged the Israeli authorities to cease all settlement building and to remove illegal outposts, as required under international law.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised this issue with the Israeli authorities at the highest levels during his visit to the region on 23-24 May.

National Crime Agency

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Randerson on 4 June (WA 173), why they have decided not to use their powers under section 26 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to direct that the necessary action is taken to give the National Crime Agency the powers to carry out police operations and recruit agents in Northern Ireland; and what assessment they have made of security throughout the United Kingdom without doing so.

Baroness Randerson: We have no plans to use section 26 of the Northern Ireland Act to require the devolved administration to give the National Crime Agency powers in the devolved sphere.
	Because the Northern Ireland Executive has not adopted a legislative consent motion on the NCA, the new agency will not be able to operate with the powers of a constable in relation to criminal matters which are devolved, such as armed robbery and child exploitation. However, it will be able to operate in Northern Ireland on matters which are not devolved such as immigration and customs related crime, including people trafficking and fuel laundering.
	Her Majesty’s Government is working with devolved institutions to seek to ensure that crime fighting efforts in Northern Ireland can benefit as much as possible from NCA support and expertise.

National Insurance

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many National Insurance numbers were active on 31 December 2012.

Lord Freud: On 31 December 2012 there were approximately 65 million active National Insurance Numbers (NINos) held on the DWP Customer Information System (CIS).

National Insurance

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who authorises the issue of an individual's National Insurance number.

Lord Freud: National Insurance Numbers (NINos) are required for both working and non-working people and are issued both by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs and DWP Jobcentre Plus.
	The majority of UK nationals receive their NINo automatically shortly before their 16th birthday. This is as a consequence of the individual being included in a successful claim to Child benefit. HMRC own this process.
	Jobcentre Plus is responsible for the allocation of NINos to adults who have not received a NINo through the HMRC process. This affects mainly adults entering the UK from abroad.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they pay the University of Nottingham for the pension of the Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; and how much has been paid and to whom each year since his appointment.

Baroness Randerson: Pension contributions for the current Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) are made to his existing employer's pension scheme. This arrangement is in accordance with the provisions contained in Schedule 7 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The annual cost of pension provision is set out in the NIHRC annual accounts which are laid before both Houses.

Northern Ireland Parades Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , in appointing the current Chairman of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission, whether the Chairman's political career and current political affiliations were taken into consideration; who interviewed him for that position; whether they will place in the Library of the House all documents surrounding his appointment, and if so when; and whether this information is available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Baroness Randerson: All appointments to the Parades Commission are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies, Departments are required to note the political activity on candidates for public appointments. If those candidates are successful, then information on their political activity is published with the announcement of their appointment. A copy of the press release issued at the time of appointment of the present chairman is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/paterson-appoints-new-parades-commission.
	The selection panel for this appointment was chaired by a senior official from the Northern Ireland Office and included an official from the Department of Justice and an Independent Public Appointments Assessor. The panel was approved by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
	Appointment documentation contains sensitive personal data, which would be exempt from release under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act.

Overseas Aid

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the Department for International Development’s current aid budget allocation for nutrition in (1) Malawi, and (2) Tanzania.

Baroness Northover: Nutrition-specific programmes can be defined as interventions that address immediate determinants of foetal and child nutrition. In Malawi DfID is spending £5 million between 2013-15 and £2.7 million between 2011-2014 in Tanzania. DfID provides significant support to a number of other programmes in Malawi and in Tanzania—including health, education, and water and sanitation—all of which help to address underlying determinants of nutrition.
	At the Nutrition for Growth event in June this year the UK Government committed to spend an additional £375 million on direct nutrition interventions between now and 2020, with a further £280 million to be provided as matched funding, and to spend an additional £604 million on investments in relevant sectors that are nutrition sensitive between 2013 and 2020. The UK’s commitment was made alongside commitments from countries including Malawi and Tanzania, and will help prevent at least 20 million children from stunted growth and save at least 1.7 million lives by 2020.

Overseas Aid

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the Department for International Development currently spending on child health in (1) Malawi, and (2) Tanzania.

Baroness Northover: The UK Government is providing £39m un-earmarked funds in 2013/14 to Malawi’s Ministry of Health, £16m of which is procuring drugs and medical supplies including for childhood illnesses. Our £110m five-year Sector Budget Support programme (2011-2016) is also contributing to the procurement and distribution of over 1.8m bednets for pregnant women and children, immunisation of over 150,000 children and malaria treatment for over 1.5m children. We are providing an additional £25rn to meet the large demand for family planning services and to improve maternal health; and £5in in improving nutrition for under 5 children.
	This year, the UK Government is providing £50m of un-earmarked funds to the government of Tanzania, of which around 13% is attributable to health and around 7% to child health. We will also spend £8m providing bednets for pregnant women and their infants. We are making a further investment in nutrition and maternal reproductive health of f 7.6m, which has very significant impact on child health directly and indirectly.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Jolly: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which 10 countries are receiving the most Department for International Development nutrition funding; and how much bilateral funding from the United Kingdom goes to each of those countries.

Baroness Northover: DfID uses the Development Assistance Committee. DAC input sector code for basic nutrition to record nutrition specific investments. In DfID’s annually published bilateral aid expenditure in its Statistics for International Development (SID)
	for the period 2011/12, the top ten countries for DfID nutrition basic spend were: India—£26,616,000; Nigeria—£1,913,000, Bangladesh— £1,712,000, Sudan—£988,000; Zambia—£876,000; Tanzania—£820,000; Cambodia—£800,000; Zimbabwe—£745,000; Ghana—£688,000 and Burma £305,000.
	These figures do not take into account spending on sectors that also help people maintain a healthy and well-nourished lifestyle (e.g. agriculture, water and sanitation, health, education etc.); donors are working on a method for calculating this and baseline estimates will be published in September. Since April 2012 several new nutrition specific programmes have begun, for example in Yemen, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia, so this data will not reflect these more recent investments. The SID 2012/2013 data will be published in the autumn.

Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of non-violent protestors killed and injured by (1) live fire, (2) rubber bullets, and (3) other weapons, in Palestine since 2002.

Baroness Warsi: We have made no assessment of the number of non-violent protestors killed or injured in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 2002.
	According to the website of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 3,643 Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israelis since 1 January 2012 in incidents directly related to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the West Bank and Gaza strip.

Pensions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost to public funds of (1) unfunded public sector pension schemes, and (2) locally administered pension schemes, in each of the last five years; and what are the estimated future annual reductions in such costs following recent reforms.

Lord Deighton: (1) In unfunded public service schemes there is no investment pot into which member and employer contributions are paid. Instead, pensioners’ benefits are treated as if they were financed from the contributions of current members and employers with any shortfall being met by the Exchequer. In its short term forecasts, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) provides the outturn Exchequer expenditure on the surplus for the year preceding the beginning of the forecast. These are collated in the following table:
	
		
			 Exchequer Expenditure on public service pensions (£bn) 
			 Year 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 
			 Outturn 3.1 3.2 5.6 8 10.5 
		
	
	Notes
	1. 2008-09 figure is from June 2010 OBR Budget forecast.
	2. 2009-10 figure is from November 2010 OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecast.
	3. 2010-1 1 figure is from March 2012 OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecast.
	4. 2011-12 and 2012-13 figures are from March 2013 OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecast.
	5. 2012-13 figure includes Royal Mail Pension scheme for the first time, and is based on forecast estimate in the absence of outturn data for 2012-13.
	The Treasury estimates that without the announced policy changes to uprating and employee pension contributions, Exchequer expenditure would be £2.9 billion higher than the OBR forecasts for 2013-14 and £3.6 billion higher than the OBR forecasts for 2014-15. The reforms to public service pension scheme designs will further impact upon the forecasts of Exchequer expenditure from 2015-16 onwards, although the impact on Exchequer expenditure cannot currently be estimated since the new schemes have not been actuarially valued to determine employer contribution rates. Taxpayer spending on public service pensions in payment—gross expenditure less employee contributions—is expected to reduce by over 40 per cent in the long term as a result of this Government's public service pensions reforms package (uprating and employee pension contributions and scheme designs).
	(2) The locally administered fire and police pension schemes are unfunded, and captured within (1) above. In the locally administered Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), which is a funded scheme, member and employer contributions are paid into one of 99 regional pension funds. These monies are invested, and benefits are paid from the funds when due. As such, no ‘public funds’ have been required to meet the costs of benefits paid from the LGPS in the last five years. Nor are any ‘public funds’ expected to be required as a result of the announced policy changes described above.

Pharmaceutical Industry: Clinical Trials

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy regarding the registration and reporting of the results of clinical trials by the pharmaceutical industry.

Earl Howe: All clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (CTIMPs) approved in the European Union are registered on the EudraCT database run by the European Medicines Agency. Data extracted from EudraCT is publicly available as the fully searchable EU Clinical Trials Register.
	The Government is fully supportive of transparency in the publication of the results of clinical trials funded by the pharmaceutical industry, and expects that by the end of 2013-14 greater transparency and the disclosure of trial results will be achieved via the development of the EU Clinical Trials Register, which will make the summary results of CTIMPs (other than phase 1 trials in adults) conducted in the EU publicly available.
	In addition, the Government welcomes work being undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry itself to develop schemes of voluntary publication of clinical trial data.

Philip Machemedze

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 22 June 2011 (WA 316), whether, in the case of Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation operative Philip Machemedze, who has admitted kidnapping and torture and is now resident in Wales, they have pursued the matter through the United Nations Security Council; and if not, why not.

Baroness Warsi: In his previous answer, Lord Howell of Guildford advised that Zimbabwe is not a party to the Rome Statute and that the International Criminal Court (ICC) therefore has no jurisdiction over events which have taken place in that country. This remains the case.

Planning: Green Belt

Baroness Afshar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider extending the deadline for local authorities to submit local plans in respect of proposed Green Belt land, in the light of the time taken to complete consultations on the issue.

Baroness Hanham: The Government has asked local planning authorities to have up-to-date Local Plans in place as soon as practicable. In our Plan-led system this is vital. For local authorities not yet able to complete their Plans, my Department has been providing advice, and we are considering what additional support is needed. I should make clear that the protections for Green Belt set out in the National Planning Policy Framework remain in force, even where there is no up-to-date Plan.
	The Green Belt provides a valuable role in protecting against urban sprawl and providing a green lung around our towns and cities. As pledged in the Coalition Agreement, this Government has increased Green Belt
	protection by abolishing the last Administration's top-down Regional Strategies that sought to delete the Green Belt.
	National planning policy, that Green Belt boundaries should only be revised in exceptional circumstances, is essentially unchanged from the guidance published in 1995.

Post-2015 Development Framework

Lord Browne of Ladyton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Northover on 3 June (WS 87), what plans they have to advance the “transformational shift” Leave no one behind; whether they plan to collect data on its impact for disabled people; and how they intend to take the matter forward with the United Nations Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals and in the United Nations process to develop a post-2015 development framework.

Baroness Northover: The UK welcomes the High Level Panel's proposal that no target will be considered met unless all income and social groups, including people with disabilities, are taken into consideration. This will ensure ‘no one is left behind‘. It is crucial that the new development framework delivers for people with disabilities, as well as other vulnerable or marginalised groups. The UK is playing an active role through its shared seat with Australia and the Netherlands at the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, and will continue to use this and other opportunities to promote UK priorities for the post-2015 agenda.
	The UK is also working to influence key decision maker , partners, and institutions in order to promote the High Level Panel report and ensure there is sufficient data and technical work to guarantee the terms laid out in the report. The UK is supporting efforts to gather better and more reliable data on disability and is fully supportive of the need for a ‘data revolution as called for by the High Level Panel report.

Prisoners: UK Prisoners Abroad

The Earl of Courtown: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British citizens are in prisons abroad.

Baroness Warsi: As of 31 March 2013, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are aware of 2,758 British nationals detained overseas.

Public Bodies

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to which public bodies the Home Office has appointed a chairperson since May 2010; and who was appointed in each case.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Since May 2010, the Home Office has appointed the following people to Chair its Public Bodies:
	
		
			 Public Body Person appointed 
			 Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Professor Les Iversen 
			 Animals in Science Committee Dr John Landers 
			 Disclosure and Barring Service Bill Griffiths 
			 Independent Police Complaints Commission Dame Anne Owers 
			 Independent Safeguarding Authority Sir Roger Singleton, CBE 
			 Migration Advisory Committee Professor Sir David Metcalf, CBE 
			 National DNA Database Ethics Group Christopher Hughes, OBE 
			 National Policing Improvement Agency Peter Holland, CBE, DL, Chris Hughes, CBE 
			 Police Advisory Board for England and Wales John Randall 
			 Police Arbitration Tribunal Professor John Goodman, CBE 
			 Police Negotiating Board John Randall 
			 Security Industry Authority Bill Matthews 
			 Technical Advisory Board Peter Walker

Public Bodies

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to which public bodies the Ministry of Justice has appointed a chairperson since May 2010; and who was appointed in each case.

Lord McNally: Details of Ministry of Justice chair appointments to public bodies since May 2010 have been lodged in the House library.

Questions for Written Answer

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will answer the Questions for Written Answer HL1115-17, tabled on 24 June and due for answer by 8 July.

Baroness Hanham: I have answered these questions today.

Railways: Crossrail

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Deighton on 23 July on Crossrail and small and medium-sized enterprise access to local contracts, what work they are undertaking to help small and medium-sized enterprises in East London access Crossrail contracts.

Earl Attlee: Crossrail has undertaken a significant programme of supplier engagement with Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) all over the UK to maximise the business opportunities that Crossrail presents. Crossrail is working with local and regional business groups to raise the profile of Crossrail and is participating in a series of targeted events around the UK. Crossrail requires all tier one contractors to use the CompeteFor website, which matches suppliers to opportunities that suit them and allows them to apply for contracts quickly and easily. In addition a list of “Current Opportunities” and the Crossrail “Supplier Guide” are published on the Crossrail website.
	Crossrail has been particularly active in east London. On 23 May 2013, Crossrail held a Meet the Contractor Event in Canary Wharf in partnership with the East London Business Place (ELBP). Around 150 business representatives from the ELBP attended. Suppliers were given the opportunity to learn about the project, the types of contracts that will arise over the years ahead and what they need to do to maximise their chances of winning work on Crossrail. Throughout the day over 200 targeted “one to one” appointments between Crossrail’s principal contractors and suppliers took place and a CompeteFor clinic was available, which allowed suppliers to sign up or update their profile or to attend a ten minute CompeteFor overview presentation.
	Crossrail will continue to engage local suppliers around the UK, including the east of London, the UK regions and the devolved nations.

Schools: Asbestos

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any authority responsible to them has investigated the implications of the presence of asbestos at Cwmcarn school in Gwent.

Lord Freud: Cwmcarn High School was closed by Caerphilly County Borough Council on 12 October 2012 following the receipt of an ‘asbestos investigation report’ commissioned by the Council.
	As a result of the decision to close the school, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the arrangements that were in place to manage asbestos at the school. This investigation included a visual inspection for damaged asbestos materials and other indicators
	of releases of asbestos into the air within the school. The investigation also considered the findings of a number of specialist reports into the management of asbestos at the school. These enquiries found no evidence that normal occupation of the school poses a risk to health from asbestos materials within the school buildings.
	A report of HSE’s investigation was published on 19 July 2013.

Sudan

The Duke of Montrose: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , in the light of the recent killing of two World Vision International aid workers in Nyala, what assessment they have made of the effectiveness with which United Nations Mission in Darfur is fulfilling its mandate of protecting civilians and providing security for humanitarian assistance.

Baroness Warsi: The United Nations-African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur, UNAMID, is mandated to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and humanitarian activities and to facilitate the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Darfur.
	We believe that UNAMID could be much more effective in carrying out its mandate in this and other areas, through more robust and effective use of its troops and other resources. We are raising this concern in ongoing discussions in the UN Security Council about the renewal of UNAMID’s mandate. We are equally using those discussions to press the Government of Sudan to end all obstruction of UNAMID’s operations.
	We will also be stepping up our efforts to help countries to prepare their troops better for their role in UNAMID, including understanding and carrying through the mission’s mandate for the protection of civilians and humanitarian operations.

Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what security measures can be put in place by the United Nations and African Union to protect non-governmental organisations working in Darfur, Sudan, following the recent deaths of two World Vision International staff this month in Nyala.

Baroness Warsi: The United Nations-African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur, UNAMID, is mandated to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and humanitarian activities and to facilitate the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Darfur.
	We believe that UNAMID could be much more effective in carrying out its mandate in this and other areas, through more robust and effective use of its troops and other resources. We are raising this concern in ongoing discussions in the UN Security Council about the renewal of UNAMID’s mandate. We are equally using those discussions to press the Government of Sudan to end all obstruction of UNAMID’s operations.
	We will also be stepping up our efforts to help countries to prepare their troops better for their role in UNAMID, including understanding and carrying through the mission’s mandate for the protection of civilians and humanitarian operations.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have asked the government of Sudan to end the aerial bombardment of and use of military force against civilians in Blue Nile and South Kordofan; if so, when; and what response they received.

Baroness Warsi: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) raised this issue when he met Sudanese Foreign Minister Karti on 7 May. Our Embassy in Khartoum has also continued to raise this with the Sudanese government since the start of the conflict. Equally we have raised concerns about abuses with rebel groups. The Sudanese government has consistently denied the use of tactics which target civilians, and has claimed that the majority of civilians have left the conflict zones. We have made it clear that we do not regard these responses as credible. We have urged the Government of Sudan and The Sudan People's Liberation Movement North SPLM(N), to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have asked the government of Sudan to open up South Kordofan and Blue Nile to enable access for humanitarian aid; if so, when; and what response they received.

Baroness Northover: The Foreign Secretary raised this issue when he met Sudanese Foreign Minister Karti on 7 May this year and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development (Lynne Featherstone) raised it when she visited Sudan in January 2013. Embassy officials in Khartoum have also continued to press the Sudanese Government to allow full access for humanitarian aid. The Sudanese Government has allowed some humanitarian access to Government held areas. We have made clear that this position is not sufficient and fails to discharge the Government's responsibility to protect all its own citizens.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the absence of negotiated humanitarian access into Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains, what they are doing to explore alternative options with the international community for delivery of assistance in those areas.

Baroness Northover: DFID remains of the view that the best way to achieve the level of access required is for a negotiated cessation of hostilities between the Government of Sudan and Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM(N)). In the meantime, the UK teams in Juba and Khartoum will continue to work closely with the Office for the Co-ordination of
	Humanitarian Affairs, other donors, and non-governmental organisations to ensure that assistance reaches all those in need who are accessible, and that we are ready to move rapidly to respond to a broader opening up of access. UNICEF and the World Health Organisation have agreed in principle with the Government of Sudan and SPLM(N) a vaccination campaign targeting all areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile which is due to start at the end of the rainy season in October. We will press both sides to agree on a detailed plan for delivery of vaccines and ensure that there is no further delay.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have asked the United Nations Security Council to implement targeted sanctions against the government of Sudan to protect people in South Kordofan and Blue Nile; if so, when; and what was the response.

Baroness Warsi: We regularly raise the conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile during the UN Security Council’s twice monthly discussions of the situation between Sudan and South Sudan. Security Council resolution 2046 requires the parties to negotiate on an end to the conflict. There is, however, no consensus in the Council on further action, and so the UK has not at this stage proposed detailed measures such as targeted sanctions or the establishment of an international independent committee of inquiry.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have asked the United Nations Security Council to establish an international independent committee of inquiry to investigate and report on human rights violations and abuses and crimes against humanity in Blue Nile and South Kordofan; if so, when; and what was the response.

Baroness Warsi: We regularly raise the conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile during the UN Security Council’s twice monthly discussions of the situation between Sudan and South Sudan. Security Council resolution 2046 requires the parties to negotiate on an end to the conflict. There is, however, no consensus in the Council on further action, and so the UK has not at this stage proposed detailed measures such as targeted sanctions or the establishment of an international independent committee of inquiry.

Sudan and South Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proposed merger in October of the role of the European Union special representative to Sudan and South Sudan with that of the European Union special representative to the Horn of Africa; and what are the expected benefits for Sudan and South Sudan from the merger.

Baroness Warsi: We support efforts by the European Union (EU) to rationalise the number and cost of Special Representatives (SR). We recognise that the proposed merger of the EUSR mandates in the Horn of Africa can potentially provide a more cost-effective intervention, while increasing strategic linkages in the region. But it is clear that Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan will all continue to require a high level of EU attention, so it will be important to ensure that the EUSR’s activities are tightly focused and prioritised and well coordinated with other EU and Member States activities in the region. Before a final decision is made, we have asked the EU High Representative to take into account how events in Sudan and South Sudan develop over the next four months, particularly on whether substantive progress is made on the various international mediation processes. We will continue to discuss this issue closely with our EU partners before the expiration of the EUSR Sudan and South Sudan mandate in October 2013.
	We will ensure the Noble Lord, and the other European Union Committee members, are kept informed of developments ahead of the final decision to merge the mandates.

Transport: Disabled Badge Holders

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 23 July (HL1696), whether they will consider the issue of temporary disability parking badges with a photograph and a final date of use to disabled people at the time of their arrival at British ports and airports on production of relevant documentation such as their own country’s disability parking badge or a letter from their general practitioner.

Earl Attlee: The Government has no plans to introduce such a scheme. It would be administratively complex and expensive to confirm eligibility and produce the new high-security fraud resistant Blue Badge, on-demand, for short stay visitors. Anything less rigorous would undermine the UK scheme at a time when the Government has taken great strides to tackle fraud and abuse of Blue Badges.

Violence against Women

The Lord Bishop of Derby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 9 July (WA35), what funding has been provided to churches and faith-based organisations from the Violence against Women and Children Research and Innovation Fund.

Baroness Northover: The initial competitive tenders for Women and Children Research and Innovation programme were issued in May 2013, and we expect contracts to be in place by the end of the year.
	The innovation grants will specifically target support to developing country organisations and will be open to partnerships between international and local organisations, including churches and faith-based organisations.

Weather: Hot Weather

The Earl of Courtown: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is being done to ensure that the most vulnerable people are getting the help they need in the recent hot weather.

Earl Howe: The Heatwave Plan is an important part of overall emergency planning and has been jointly agreed by the Department, NHS England, Public Health England and other stakeholders. It was published by Public Health England in May 2013 and aims to raise awareness of the dangers of severe heat and to describe actions to reduce harm, to be taken by individuals and services such as the National Health Service, social care and local government. The plan is a guide to good practice, but it is up to local areas to adapt and incorporate action into local plans.
	The NHS in England has plans in place to ensure that vulnerable adults and children receive the care that they need in the event of a heat wave. The NHS works closely with statutory and non-statutory agencies in planning and responding to the need of individuals to ensure that vulnerable groups receive the care that is appropriate to them in an extreme of temperature.
	Public Health England (PHE) issued public health messaging through social media and conventional media at national, regional and local levels. Specifically, these messages have focused on the effects of heat on those less able to cope: older people, young children and babies and those with serious illnesses. Specific messages include staying cool, drinking cool fluids and looking out for others. Advice on how to stay cool at home and advice for care home managers and staff have been shared as well as recommending never leaving anyone in a closed, parked vehicle, especially infants, young children or animals.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government’s resilience and emergencies team has a key role in supporting local resilience forums in the work they undertake to identify risks and agree plans to mitigate those risks at a local level. Drawing on the national Heatwave Plan, Local Resilience Forums help to ensure that:
	—the distribution of Heat-Health Watch Alerts reaches those that need to take action; —a multi-agency response to heat waves is developed, working with key stakeholders including local authority health and social care services and the voluntary sector; and—actions are taken (appropriate to local needs) in light of the Heatwave Alert messages to ensure that the needs of vulnerable people are met.